I will stop short of saying that the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship and FedEx Cup finale was boring; saying that it was less than exciting feels less judgmental and sufficiently accurate.

Think of a good, even great, player in that sport, male or female. Now, refine that thought specifically to identify an outstanding player, star or superstar, who clearly relishes (or relished) living in the spotlight. You likely either like (love) that player or dislike (hate) that player.

Explaining the FedEx Cup playoff rules heading into the Tour Championship in a few weeks is just about as difficult as explaining pass interference, especially to non-golfers.

Former Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose was sitting pretty in 115th position of the top 125 to make the postseason, virtually assured of qualifying for the three upcoming playoff dates and their massive paydays. Then, Rose three-putted his final hole: Rose dropped to 126 and Chesson Hadley moved to 125.

More than 80 golfers with handicap indexes of 8.4 or less took on the venerable Galveston Country Club course, including players from Galveston, Texas City, Santa Fe, Dickinson, Friendswood and League City.

"We hope that fans of golf will come out and watch these fabulous amateurs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning," Galveston Country Club President Bob Senter said. "We are proud to represent Galveston Island and Galveston County for this prestigious event. The competitors will tee off beginning at 8:30 a.m. all three days, and there is no fee for spectators."

It is understandable that some golfers decided the fierce protocol was not worth it, and opted out of competition. It should be interesting and insightful to hear what those who chose to endure it all to play in front of no fans, with no money to win, have to say about the importance of chasing a gold medal.

The 149th Open Championship is in the books. Next year, the 150th will be played on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Let me be among the first to wonder whether Tiger Woods will be able to participate. Meanwhile, here are a few parting shots from Sandwich, England. Hold the mayo!

All MLB baseballs are created the same; therefore, hitters and fielders are all totally responsible for what their arms and bats can make the ball do. Wouldn’t it be interesting if all golfers — at least those who are professionals, that is — used a single ball?

When the best on the planet struggle, when we see on the TV screen the same glazed and dazed look that makes a player look like he just received a Rocky Marciano right hook, and especially when they miss a 3-foot putt, they are just like us. And we are validated. And we are given to understand that we are not abject failures of the fairways. We are given hope.

Today, professional golfers almost universally refer to themselves as “we.” “We” hit the right club; “we” had the right number. And yet, only the golfer actually hits the great, marginally good, bad or awful shot.

When the mushroom cloud evaporated, so had his lead and all hopes of becoming only the fourth man to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles, joining Ben Hogan, Ernie Els and Curtis Strange.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) annually invites any and all golfers to attempt to qualify to play in the United States Open Golf Championship. Don’t pack your clubs and head for the nearest qualifying venue: it’s already too late, so, maybe 2022 will be your year.

Jon Rahm and Lexi Thompson handled the disappointment in a professional manner, but both still had a sad ending.

Although a player can be penalized for slow play, it happens about as often as my Aunt Theresa spanked her kids. But it does happen, and it happened to Spain’s Carlota Ciganda at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play competition.

Phabulous Phil kept it interesting, alternating brilliance with near disaster.

At 5-foot-10, Lee in no way resembles Matson. They do, however, have something in common: the shot put. Lee was competitive enough to win his regional competition.

Proceeds from this event will benefit academic scholarships for Ball High student-athletes.

I settled on the purchase of what was known as a “half-glove.” Non-golfers will identify with Red Skelton’s Freddie the Freeloader character for a mental image of what that looks like. Golfers will recall they were less expensive and generally more durable than full-fingered gloves.